‘I can do my best and my best can get results’
Last season, as a rookie on the Simon Fraser Clan volleyball team, Christine Howlett very quickly noticed that the level of work she saw from her new teammates was something that extended beyond practices and matches and into the classroom.
“I realized that I was a part of a really academic team,” the 5-foot-10 sophomore outside hitter from Tsawwassen acknowledges.
“I just have to look at my two roommates. One (Madison Power) is in kinesiology, and the other is in engineering (Lauren Fridman). I guess you could say we’re a pretty studious household.”
Howlett, who has explored the Clan course catalogue her first three terms by taking everything from kinesiology to criminology to archeology, is this month set to begin her major in business.
And you know she means it, especially when you look at the way she grades out both on the court and in the classroom.
Of the nearly 200 student-athletes competing in her sport in the NCAA Div. 2’s Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Howlett topped the entire field with a grade-point average of 4.00.
“To me, it’s more pride than anything else,” Howlett adds.
“Once I got that (honour), it told me that I can do my best and my best can get results. My dad got (the certificate) framed. It was pretty nice.”
Says Simon Fraser University’s NCAA program coordinator Laura Reid, who is responsible for academic advising and support for the Clan’s 350-plus student athletes:
“It’s not easy what we’re asking our athletes to do. Most sports put in 20 hours a week and on top of that there are NCAA rules on how large a course load they must have, so there is very little wiggle room.”
Adding sports to a heavy academic course load can be too much for many.
“A lot of people don’t realize that it’s actually like having a part-time job with volleyball,” says Howlett.